The Hindu Business Line : Welspun India to foray into hypermarkets

WELSPUN India is planning to enter hypermarkets under the brand name Welspun Home Club. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Anshuman Singh, Chief Operating Officer (Retail), Welspun India, said these hypermarkets would focus on home furnishings.

The company is going to open three Welspun Home Clubs in October in Mumbai, Thane and Delhi and plans at least 15 such stores in the next seven to eight months.

Each of these stores, according to Mr Singh, would be spread across an area of 10,000 sq ft and is targeted at the mid-segment customers.

"All Welspun Home Club store would be discount stores," he added.

Welspun entered into organised retail last year with its premium brand, Spaces, and Welspun Factory Outlet, which caters to the mass market.

However, with the launch of the hypermarket format in the major cities, the Welspun Factory Outlets would now be restricted only to smaller cities and towns.

The company is also planning to introduce furnishing and upholstery under its Spaces brand.

Also on the cards are plans to have larger stores with a host of value-adds such as free interior designing consultation, interactive home-designing software and so on.

"We are going to redefine lifestyle as far as home décor is concerned. All the future Spaces stores would be in the region of 10,000 sq ft and we are planning five such stores in the coming months," said Mr Singh.

He said the company has invested in the region of Rs 25-30 crore for retail growth.

The company has also recently invested around Rs 650 crore to set up a factory in Gujarat for itsbed and bath range.

Welspun currently has 42 stores in 25 cities.

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